To be fair do superhero readers actually buy books from book stores?
I usually find these books cheaper at my LCS or sites that focus on comic trades
We need better comics
more than the CCA, i think it's the direct market that's killing cape comics.
This information is only for bookstores, not comic stores. It's clearly the opposite direction for comic book stores.
The big problem for superheroes trades in bookstores is the price, IMO. All those bestsellers like Dogman and Raina Telegmeier are cheap books. What parent is going to want to shell out 20 bucks for a thin trade paperback, when they can buy 3 of the Dogman books or 2 or 3 manga?
And I agree with whoever said superhero fans probably buy their trades elsewhere. I certainly do, unless there's an amazing sale a the bookstore.
Namor the Sub-Mariner, Marvel's oldest character, will have been published for 85 years in 2024. So where's my GOOD Namor anniversary ongoing, Marvel?
Superhero comics priced themselves out of the mainstream. No sane person wants to spend 20 + dollars on a trade paperback with six issues when they can get a manga collection that's twice as long for half the cost.
Yeah manga's are $10 new or $1 to $6 plus tax used on amazon!
For floppies you can get two 22 pages comics that take 2 min each to read for $10 or you could get a 150 to 200 page manga new or two used ones for the same price as the two floppies!
I would be surprised if that was indeed the case. I'm sure it varies store to store, but a large percentage of the money such a shop makes comes from impulse drop-in customers*. Most of whom are far more likely to pick up a volume of manga/original graphic novel or toy than any comic with a superhero in it. Most long lasting comic shops only survive because they diversify: Toys, Tabletop games, niche books, records, etc. Regulars will buy monthly comics semi-reliably, but floor space is limited. If half your shop isn't selling something else, your success is an anomaly.
*40-60% from the owners I've asked, and a lot of that has to do with how pedestrian friendly the location is.
Continuity, even in a "shared" comics universe is often insignificant if not largely detrimental to the quality of a comic.
Immortal X-Men - Once & Future- X-Cellent - X-Men: Red
Nobody cares about what you don't like, they barely care about what you do like.
The comic stores I shop at don't carry manga or anime. I think only one of them had a small kids area ... but I'm not sure they carried any of the books, like Dogman. They diversify with gaming stuff and "toys." I'm betting they can't get the discounts that the bookstores have to compete. Plus, the manga usually requires a commitment to stocking entire series, which can be a larger investment. Now, one of them had some manga / anime toys and banners and stuff like that -- imports, I'm thinking?
Last edited by Reviresco; 10-10-2019 at 02:15 PM.
Namor the Sub-Mariner, Marvel's oldest character, will have been published for 85 years in 2024. So where's my GOOD Namor anniversary ongoing, Marvel?
I guess I'm not too surprised to hear that. There's at least one shop in my area that carries all the other things, but very little in the way of manga or comics aimed at younger folk. Granted they're primarily a toy/tabletop game shop, I think they only sell monthly comics anymore because it's expected along with their back-issue collection. Which is admittedly something I discount. While all of the other shops have roughly just as much shelf space for manga as new release monthlies, several of them have much of their floor space taken up by back issues. Toys, and OGNs aimed at school-aged folk appear to take up more space than Manga/Monthlies/back issues combined however.
Continuity, even in a "shared" comics universe is often insignificant if not largely detrimental to the quality of a comic.
Immortal X-Men - Once & Future- X-Cellent - X-Men: Red
Nobody cares about what you don't like, they barely care about what you do like.
Um....I've been saying this for a while now lol. So this article is only preaching to the choir
There's a difference, tho. When you have a tie-in novel (or manga, in the case of an anime film) what you are selling is "stories of the same character in a different format!"
But with superhero films, it's "stories of a character with the same name, but an entirely different personality, status quo, and storyline!"
For example, when Black Panther came out, they marketed the hell out of the Priest, Hudlin, & Coates runs... but none of them are stories of the movie Panther! Some great stories, for sure... but stories about a different character.
(As for the movie tie-in comics... those are almost always utterly forgettable recaps, and are far too short for a trade.)
You also have to keep into consideration, manga are printed on smaller/cheaper paper, in black-and-white, and generally involve very small creative teams. So they can get away with selling them for a lower price compared to trades/graphic novels.
This probably moreso proves that good majority of people don't care about page size if they can get a good deal. That's basically what Marvel did in early 2000s with the Digests, and those sold really well, not to mention the Archie digests that are everywhere. And from what I've seen, all the new smaller trades that have been re-collecting their teen books for a cheaper price have been doing pretty well, so they have been figuring it out.
That's why I think it shouldn't be sold as a tie-in, they should be sold as adaptations. It's the same thing with any book-to-movie adaptation, sometimes they make minor changes, sometimes major changes, but people still love to read them to determine the similarities and differences.
I would imagine someone who watched Black Panther and decided to pick up, say, a Priest volume, won't look or think about it as the same thing, they'll think of it as the original, and recognize whatever the movie chose to adapt, like any adaptation.
Last edited by Inversed; 10-10-2019 at 07:34 PM.
Doctor Strange: "You are the right person to replace Logan."
X-23: "I know there are people who disapprove... Guys on the Internet mainly."
(All-New Wolverine #4)
It's from a few months ago but here is a story on mangas growth in America and france. (50% of graphic novel sales in france are manga!)
Edit. First link isn't working but the second link has another take on the same story. Not sure why the first link won't work.
Middaugh’s optimism is not without merit, as these trends are supported by rapidly growing sales numbers. Anime streaming service Crunchyroll currently has 2 million paid subscribers after doubling their subscriber numbers in only 2 years. According to Comicbook.com, 2018 sales of manga grew from it’s previous years revenue by 7.24%, a stark contrast to the 1% fall in revenue reported by the Western comic industry.
Manga publishers are also now doubling down on the international market. With the arrival of @SquareEnix having their own manga/book publishing imprint, “now all top 5 JP manga publishers have subsidiaries in N. America.” - Dallas Middaugh #ProjectAnime19
“Meanwhile, in France, 25% of all books published are graphic novels/BD/manga, of which 50% is manga. This indicates potential for growth in the overseas market.” - Dallas Middaugh @
Another take on the story.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/0...decline/88299/
I told this story before but one neat thing I saw at our replays (they sells dvds and games but added a manga section not to long ago if your wondering) was a full family walked in and headed right to the manga. Every member of the family was getting manga and talking about them. Even the little kids! They were talking about stories from the manga with each other and even the mom was grabbing manga! The kids talking about manga reminded me of us talking about comics at school when I was younger! Never saw a full family so into manga and the kids were really excited! It was neat to see.
As for japan they have not one but two 5 story manga stores! The stores sell manga based stuff like anime, toys and even supplies to make your own manga!
They also have a manga only library in japan! (they even have American graphic novels and English version of mangas!) We don't even have a graphic novel only library here in America!
Last edited by Gaastra; 10-13-2019 at 06:25 AM.
I really think the high cover price is a turn off. I dropped out of comic s when they went up to 2.99. People are wanting to spend there money on other things. I also dont get how a digital comic that has no value can cost 3 or more when it first comes out.